


Carrot Cake

by aestivates



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Coma, M/M, Post-Sburb/Sgrub, Tumblr: imagineyourotp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-27
Updated: 2013-02-27
Packaged: 2017-12-03 19:07:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/701643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aestivates/pseuds/aestivates
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dave spends so much time at the hospital the nurses have taken to calling him by his first name.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Carrot Cake

**Author's Note:**

> From [imagineyourotp](http://imagineyourotp.tumblr.com): "Imagine the flood of relief person A or B would feel when their partner finally wakes up in hospital after sustaining severe injuries that nearly killed them."
> 
> 03/04/13: Title change to minimize confusion, as there is another Davekat fanfiction called "Red Velvet". It's still cake, which is the important thing.

Dave spends so much time at the hospital the nurses have taken to calling him by his first name.

"Dave, are you hungry? I brought some leftover cake from the birthday upstairs." The nurse is a young female troll, and Dave isn't even sure he's met her before, but he wouldn't be surprised if she's learned his name from the others. She has one hand poised at the doorjamb, with the other carefully balancing a small paper plate, and he notes how the toes of her shoes are just outside the doorway, as if she's afraid of crossing the barrier.

He considers saying no, but her yellow eyes are bright under the fluorescent lights, accompanied by a cheery smile that is probably trying a little too hard, and he decides it would be unfair for her to come all this way for nothing.

"Sure," he says. "You can leave it over there."

She nods and steps in, quickly but not inelegantly, and sets the plate down on the small stand by the bed.

"Can I get you anything else?" she asks, eyes flicking down to the occupant of the bed briefly.

"Nah, I'm good. Thanks, though. Say happy birthday from me." Dave has no idea whose birthday it might be, but it's the least he can do if he apparently gets to reap their cake spoils. She smiles, bows her head, and leaves, and it's only when her footsteps have faded when he gets up and moves to the other side of the bed to investigate the dessert.

It's red velvet, from the looks of it, with a thick cream cheese icing. Dave can't actually remember the last time he had red velvet, and he's not sure Karkat ever has.

"I wonder when the last time we had cake is," he muses out loud, as he scoops the plastic fork into the icing and takes a bite. "There was John's birthday like--what, two years ago? Yeah, I think Jane made carrot cake and you were so convinced there was no way it would taste good, and then you had a bite of mine and stole the whole thing. That was the last piece, too. Jerk," he adds for good measure, and he takes a second bite of icing before setting the plate down again and moving to sit on the edge of the bed. 

If he closes his eyes, he can picture Karkat's face easily: brow furrowed, mouth set in a small frown, pointing out that Dave didn't even like carrots in his dessert and that he'd in fact come up with some kind of elaborate speech that same day about his issues with bright orange phallic root vegetables in general and no, Rose, don't get out the notebook, sometimes a dude just doesn't like carrots and that's okay.

Dave would wiggle his eyebrows and effectively derail the topic by pointing out Karkat's intriguingly detailed account of his own carrot speech, and Karkat would kick him a few times until Dave stopped him with sloppy kisses all over his face and Karkat would recoil in disgust but then they'd make out and suddenly the sloppy kisses would be agreeable sloppy kisses.

But then the sound of hushed voices from the room next door forces Dave's eyes to open again, and all that greets him is a still face whose expression has remained exactly the same ever since he had disappeared into that operation room.

He's too used to the constricted feeling in his chest to even notice it now, but he breathes out a sigh all the same and settles on the edge of the crisp white bed, gaze intensely focused on that face, as though he's too afraid he'll miss something if he dares to look away.

And then, for the first time in fifteen months, Karkat's eyelids flutter.

Dave swears his own heart stops.

"Karkat," he breathes, sliding his fingers into Karkat's limp hand at his side. "Can you hear me?"

Karkat's lips begin to part, shakily, as if he's fighting against an unknown force that won't allow him to speak.

"I'm here. I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere. Come on. Come on, hold on, stay with me." Dave's face is close enough to Karkat's to kiss him, and then he does, as if there's still a dream self out there somewhere, clad in gold, just waiting to be summoned back into this reality.

And then, so very slowly, Karkat's fingers twitch to life in Dave's hands, and a second later his eyes fly open.

"Holy shit," are the first words out of his mouth, weak and coarse but audible. "Am I dead? Did I die?"

Dave has so many things to say, things he's been building up in his head for months, but for once the words escape him and all he can do is press his face into Karkat's neck and--

"Dave? Fuck, are you crying? Oh my god. Holy fuck, don't do this to me, I just woke up and I have no idea what's wrong and oh god--okay, it'll be alright, shhh." Karkat's arms are trembling as he lifts them up to circle around Dave. "Fuck," he groans suddenly. "Seriously, stop crying and tell me why everything hurts. Did I finally manage to piss someone off enough for them to push me off a cliff into an oncoming stampede of panicked hoofbeasts? Was it you? Oh my god, it was you, wasn't it?"

"Shit, I missed you," Dave half-laughs, half-sobs, words muffled stubbornly against Karkat's jaw, until he finally regains his senses enough to lift his incredibly dumb tear-stained face. "I fucking missed you, you stupid tool. Don't ever do that again."

Karkat opens his mouth again immediately, a protest on the tip of his tongue because he has no idea what he even did, but then Dave kisses him again as if he hasn't kissed him in months, and he figures that some explanations can wait.


End file.
